ENGLISH FOR YOUNG LEARNERS

DINDA ATHARI HAENY

DEDE PUTRA ANDIKA
MUSFERA NARA VADIA
AISYAH NASUTION
DELLA OFERISCHA
CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT IN TERM
OF COGNITIVE
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

The famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) stressed that children
actively construct their own cognitive worlds; information is not just poured into
their mind from the environment. Two processes underlie an individual's
construction of the world: organization and adaptation.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

. Piaget's four stages of cognitive development are:

1. The sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age, is
the first Piagetian stage.
In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating
sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric actions
- hence the term sensorimotor.
At the beginning of this stage, newborns have little more than reflexive patterns
withwhich to work.
At the end of the stage, 2 years olds have complex sensorimotor patterns and
are beginning to operate with primitive symbols.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

2. The preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age,

is the second Piagetian stage.
In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and
drawings.
Symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and
physical action.
However, although preschool children can symbolically represent the world,
according to Piaget, they still lack the ability to perform operations, the
Piagetian term for internalized mental actions that allow children to do mentally
what they previously did physically.
 Another characteristics of preoperational children is:
they ask a barrage of questions. Children's earliest questions appear around the age of 3
and, by the age of 5, they have just about exhausted the adults around them with "why"
questions. Their questions yield clues about their mental development and reflect
intellectual curiosity. These questions signal the emergence of children's interest in
reasoning and figuring out why things are the way they are
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

3. The concrete operational stage, which lasts from approximately 7 to 11 years

of age, is the third Piagetian stage.
In this stage, children can perform operations, and logical reasoning replaces
intuitive thought as long as reasoning can be applied to specific or concrete
example.
For instance, concrete operational thinkers cannot imagine the steps necessary
to complete an algebraic equation, which is too abstract for thinking at this stage
of development.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

4. The formal operational stage, which appears between the age of 11 and 15,
is the fourth and final Piagetian stage.
In this stage, individuals move beyond the world of actual, concrete experiences
and think in abstract and more logical terms.
They may think about what an ideal parent is like and compare their parents with
this ideal standard.
They begin to entertain possibilities for the future and are fascinated with what
they can be.
In solving problems, formal operational thinkers are more systematic, developing
hypotheses about why something is happening the way it is, then testing these
hypotheses in a deductive fashion.
 Abstract Thought:

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in

earlier stages, the ability to think about abstract concepts
emerges during the formal operational stage. Instead of relying
solely on previous experiences, children begin to consider
possible outcomes and consequences of actions. This type of
thinking is important in long-term planning.
 Problem-Solving:

In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems.

During the formal operational stage, the ability to systematically solve a
problem in a logical and methodical way emerges. Children at the
formal operational stage of cognitive development are often able to
quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensory Motor Period (0 – 24 months)

Stage-Age Characteristic Behavior

Reflexive Stage Simple reflex activity such as grasping,

(0-2 months) sucking.

Primary Circular Reactions(2-4 months) Reflexive behaviors occur in stereotyped

repetition such as opening and closing fingers
repetitively.

Secondary Circular Reactions Repetition of change actions to reproduce

(4-8 months) interesting consequences such as kicking
one’s feet to more a mobile suspended over
the crib.
Coordination of Secondary Reactions
(8-12 months)
Tertiary Circular Reactions
(12-18 months)
Responses become coordinated into more
complex sequences. Actions take on an
“intentional” character such as the infant
reaches behind a screen to obtain a hidden
object.
Discovery of new ways to produce the same
consequence or obtain the same goal such as
the infant may pull a pillow toward him in an
attempt to get a toy resting on it.

Invention of New Means Through Mental Evidence of an internal representational

Combination system. Symbolizing the problem-solving
(18-24 months) sequence before actually responding. Deferred
imitation.
The Preoperational Period (2-7 years)

Stage-Age Characteristic Behavior

Preoperational Phase Increased use of verbal representation but
(2-4 years) speech is egocentric. The beginnings of
symbolic rather than simple motor play.
Transductive reasoning. Can think about
something without the object being present by
use of language.
Intuitive Phase Speech becomes more social, less egocentric.
(4-7 years) The child has an intuitive grasp of logical
concepts in some areas. However, there is still
a tendency to focus attention on one aspect of
an object while ignoring others. Concepts
formed are crude and irreversible. Easy to
believe in magical increase, decrease,
disappearance. Reality not firm. Perceptions
dominate judgment.In moral-ethical realm,
the child is not able to show principles
underlying best behavior. Rules of a game not
develop, only uses simple do’s and don’ts
imposed by authority.
Period of Concrete Operations (7-12 years)
Characteristic Behavior:
Evidence for organized, logical thought. There is the ability to perform multiple classification
tasks, order objects in a logical sequence, and comprehend the principle of conservation.
thinking becomes less transductive and less egocentric. The child is capable of concrete
problem-solving.
Some reversibility now possible (quantities moved can be restored such as in arithmetic:
3+4 = 7 and 7-4 = 3, etc.)
Class logic-finding bases to sort unlike objects into logical groups where previously it was on
superficial perceived attribute such as color. Categorical labels such as “number” or animal”
now available.
Period of Formal Operations (12 years and onwards)
Characteristic Behavior:
Thought becomes more abstract, incorporating the principles of formal logic. The ability to
generate abstract propositions, multiple hypotheses and their possible outcomes is evident.
Thinking becomes less tied to concrete reality.
Formal logical systems can be acquired. Can handle proportions, algebraic manipulation,
other purely abstract processes. If a + b = x then a = x – b. If ma/ca = IQ = 1.00 then Ma =
CA.
Prepositional logic, as-if and if-then steps. Can use aids such as axioms to transcend human
 Problem-Solving:

In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems.

During the formal operational stage, the ability to systematically solve a
problem in a logical and methodical way emerges. Children at the
formal operational stage of cognitive development are often able to
quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem.
The benefits of understanding cognitive
development
Toys , games, and activities are easier to choose if you
understand the stages of a child’s cognitive development. If
you know that most children do some things at a certain age,
you will know that you don’t need to change that behaviour.
You will understand that it is not your fault your child is doing
something annoying
The benefits of understanding cognitive
development
By understanding normal development, you can tell when a
child’s development may be lagging behind their peers. In
most cases, it’s fine, but there are some red flags in
children’s development that may be worth raising with a
doctor or specialist
Application of Piaget's Ideas to Education

First, the foremost issue in education is communication. In Piaget's theory, a child's mind is not a
blank slate; to the contrary, the child has a host of ideas about the physical and natural world, but
these ideas differ from those adults. Adults must learn to comprehend what children are saying and
to respond in the same mode of discourse that children use.
Application of Piaget's Ideas to Education

Second, The child is always unlearning and relearning in addition to acquiring knowledge. Children
come to school with their own ideas about space, time, causality, quantity, and number.
Application of Piaget's Ideas to Education

Third, the child is a knowing creature, motivated to acquire knowledge. The best way to nurture this
motivation for knowledge is to allow the child to interact spontaneously with the environment;
education needs to ensure that it does not dull the child's eagerness to know by providing an overly
rigid curriculum that disrupts the child's rhythm and pace of learning.